Moving day in Haverford; they go into new township digs
Township makes move into new police and administrative offices
With boxes strewn everywhere and trucks driving in and out Friday, township employees transferred their operations down the street – to a new $17.4 million building expected to make services better and more cost efficient for the community.
“The exciting part about this is we’ll all be working under one umbrella,” township manager Larry Gentile said. “One stop shopping.”
Although the 70-officer police department has been in their location since Oct. 16, municipal administrative staff made their move Friday, even amidst the snow.
Offices were closed at the 2325 Darby Road for the day as movers from Wayne Moving & Storage loaded boxes and furniture on their trucks for the long haul down the street to 1014 Darby Road, where the 45,000-square-foot new municipal complex stood ready. Gentile said crews would continue to work throughout the weekend so that offices would be ready to open Monday.
Besides a sleek, modern appeal, the new township building will house all of the township services in one location.
“This’ll be the first time that I know of in the history of the township that the police and all the municipal operations – from the police department to public works to recreation – will be under one umbrella,” Gentile said.
Even as municipal staff worked on their move Friday, the township Parks and Recreation Department employees were moving out of their Glendale Road facility to join the township family at 1014 Darby Road.
The manager explained that the move was part of a larger investment by the board of commissioners.
“The township’s infrastructure had been let go for a long time,” he said, adding that in the last decade, commissioners worked to change that with the opening three years ago of the new vehicle maintenance facility on Hilltop Road, where all township vehicles from municipal service cars to fire trucks and police cars to trash trucks receive care.
And following the move to the new township building, the township will begin to undergo renovations to the library late next year. Gentile said that the board of commissioners committed to spend between $5.5 million and $6 million for the upgrades there.
However, on Friday, the focus was on the township administrative offices, which were a stark contrast to the older facility in a variety of ways.
First were the aesthetics with bright, clean spaces and large floor-to-ceiling windows.
There were signs of things yet to come – a construction vehicle outside moved earth for the new parking lot and snow covered an area that will be transformed into a memorial garden for military, veterans, police and firefighters in the spring.
Then, there’s the environmental accoutrements.
“It’s going to be environmentally sound,” Gentile said. “It’s going to be saving a lot of electricity and utility costs for the township.”
He said he took a tour with the contractor Thursday.
“They way they explained it to me is the boilers that are going to run that entire building is going to generate less electricity and cost than it would just do this building alone,” he said as he sat in the former township building, about a third of the size of the new one.
The newer facility has already gotten rave reviews.
“It’s long overdue,” township benefits coordinator Karea Murphy said in between washing a bin. “The other building was nice, it was cozy but it was time.”
“We’re extremely happy with it,” Police Chief John Viola said. “We worked in that environment for all of those years, you get used to it, you use it, then you come down here and you’re like, ‘Wow!’ It’s great. We have a nice, modern safe facility for the officers compared to what we had in the past.”
Operations were smoother now with all the offices surrounding a central corridor, whereas previously they had to negotiate steps, which could be difficult in prisoner transport.
One of the biggest improvements, Viola said, was the arraignment area, complete with a secure sally port, where the doors close prior to moving prisoners, keeping them in an enclosed area.
Even crossing guard Charles DeBenedictous took a moment to praise the structure as he picked up his paycheck.
“Oh my God, how could you not like it?” he smiled. “Anything new like this? Like I say, it’s time.”
That’s a sentiment Gentile hopes is repeated by residents and employees alike.
“It’s going to be a more of a pleasant experience for our residents and easier on them.,” he said. “It’s going to streamline services. It’s going to reduce expenses as far as utility costs. It’s certainly going to provide a safe, comfortable environment for our employees.”
And, soon enough, the doors will be open for everybody.
“8 a.m. Monday morning,” Gentile said, “we’re open for business.”